In general, manually operated can openers employ a rotary transport wheel and a cutting blade. Each component is arranged on separate elements of a hinged frame. In operation, the rim of a can is engaged by the transport wheel. The frame elements are brought together to move the cutting blade into contact with the top of the can with such pressure that the can top is pierced or pressured by the cutting blade. A handle, which is attached to the rotary transport wheel, is then turned by the user to rotate the can into the blade and, thus, cut the can top.
With such can openers, an operating handle is provided only on one side of the transport wheel. Accordingly, when the transport wheel positions the can for cutting, the blade is capable of cutting in only one direction. Since a majority of people are right handled, such manually operated can openers have been configured so that the handle is turned readily with one's right hand. Obviously, such can openers are difficult to use with a left hand. Can openers can be made to be operated by a left hand or a left-handed person. However, such left-handed operable can openers provide the same difficulty to a right-handed person that conventional can openers provide to a left-handed person.
Thus, there is a need for a manually operated can opener that can be operated easily by either the left or right hand of a person. Also, such a can opener should be easy to operate to remove the can top by a simple rotation of the operating handle.